Nick Saban on Jalen Milroe 2023 debut: “I think he did a really good job”

Coming into the 2023 college football season, much of the talk surrounding the Alabama Crimson Tide’s football program was something that fans are not accustomed to–uncertainty at the quarterback position. After Saturday night against Middle Tennessee State, Jalen Milroe put on a masterful performance that he hopes ends any question marks at the position. He racked up over 230 all-purpose yards and five total touchdowns in the Tide’s 56-7 throttling of the Blue Raiders. Following the game, Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban was quite impressed with Milroe’s debut.

Nick Saban on the play of his quarterback, Jalen Milroe

“It was good,” Saban said. “He’s been playing good. Prepared well for the game and I thought he did a nice job out there. I’m sure he will learn a couple of other things that will help him improve. We all got plays that we can improve on. But I think he did a really good job.”

“I think the guys delivered on what we want to try to do,” Saban said. “I think we played spotty in a couple of spots. So, we need to clean that up. We’re going to play tougher and tougher competition as we go. Got a couple of guys banged up tonight, so that might be a problem for us. But I really liked the attitude of the team, I liked the energy they played with. Great atmosphere for the first game and I appreciate the fans as well.”

Milroe put on quite the show in the first half and took advantage of his opportunity in the second half. We knew about his dual-threat ability, especially the feet. A few deep passes have maybe silenced doubters, even if Alabama was expected to cruise.

In fact, Milroe made a bit of Alabama offensive history — an impressive feat considering the recent quarterbacks in Tuscaloosa. He became the first quarterback to throw for three touchdowns and rush for an additional two. Not even Jalen Hurts, who won SEC Offensive Player of the Year as a true freshman, was able to put up those numbers.

Coming out of Tompkins High School (Katy, Texas), Milroe was one of the more highly regarded quarterbacks in the country. In the 2021 cycle, he was rated as the No. 90 overall prospect in America and the No. 13 quarterback in the country, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.

In Week 2, the Crimson Tide will face off against the Texas Longhorns on Sept. 9. That kick is set for 9:00 PM EST.

On3’s Griffin McVeigh also contributed to this article.

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